Well, the big day finally arrived. Thank goodness. We decided to have Grant's birthday party before I went back to work, so it was held the last weekend in January while we were in San Antonio. He wanted a Baylor birthday party and it was really fun time with family. However, it turns out it's very confusing for a little boy to have a birthday party before his actual birthday. Thus, February 8 had been highly anticipated in our house, especially post-birthday party as it marked the day he would turn 4 'for real'!
The night before, we decorated his doorway with streamers and lined the hallway with balloons. The morning of, I got up early to run to Shipleys so he could have a birthday sprinkle donut. I put a candle in it and we sang happy birthday and ate donuts in bed together.
Brad and I took off work to go to his Celebration of Life (aka birthday party montessori-style) at school. I had a vague idea of what to expect, but it was so much more special than I thought it would be. They make birthday celebrations a time to teach the kids about time and seasons. The celebration begins with a special song and then a discussion about light and darkness, and how the earth revolves around the sun and how time passes. The birthday child holds a globe and walks around the sun. After each rotation, the parents talk about the child. Brad and I had made a special picture board and we got to show the pictures and talk about each year of Grant's life and what he was like at each stage. Once he had made it around 4 times, we sang happy birthday to him and then he got to blow out his candles. Then on to snack time. The birthday child is responsible for bringing snacks and drinks and is able to pick 2 friends to help pass them out. Grant had decided weeks ago that he would ask Karoline - what a big decision! His Celebration of Life was such a sweet ceremony. In fact, when the kids were singing the song I almost teared up. I liked how it made us pause and consider all the ways Grant has changed and developed over the past 4 years - life truly is an incredible miracle. And, it really honored him - I could understand why he had been looking forward to it for so long!
